Articles and Videos
Superior Consulting Services Expert Dan English Named to Top 10 List of Microsoft Partner MVPs
There are about 1,000 Microsoft partner MVPs worldwide, and Dan English is one of the top 10.
The Microsoft MVP, or Most Valuable Professional, logo is a badge of honor in the IT world. In the Microsoft channel, the badge is something more—it signifies a champion within a partner company that helps the entire firm establish its market credibility. Redmond Channel Partner’s editors have selected the top 10 U.S.-based MVPs for 2011. They are experts whose status as MVPs has an impact on their partner companies’ ability to win business.
View list of top 10 MVP winners.
How Smart BI Today Can Illuminate Tomorrow
Insights from Superior Consulting Services’ Panel Discussion on BI
Midwestern business leaders came together on January 20, 2011 for a morning of nonstop, energetic discussion with SCS’ VP of Technology and BI Practice Manager, Brian Larson. Brian, along with panelists John Bredesen of Minnetronix, Brian Carlson of Federated Insurance and Brian Lunde of LifeSource gave thoughtful insights into how businesses can improve the way they manage and leverage business intelligence (BI). Read the key ideas they shared during SCS’ “Explore the Impact and Influence of Business Intelligence” event, see pictures and view the following videos:
Opening and Welcome (Allow 1-2 minutes for video to download). Brian Larson sets the stage for the morning’s discussion.
Why BI is Not a Higher Priority for IT (Allow 1-2 minutes for video to download). Brian Larson shares key findings from SCS’ recent pulse survey on the impact and influence BI is having on Midwest organizations.
Surveys
A Realistic Look at Business Intelligence
To learn more about The Impact and Influence of Business Intelligence on organizations across the Midwest, Superior Consulting Services (SCS) recently conducted a brief survey among IT and business leaders. In the just released report, The BI Snapshot, you’ll read the survey results including:
- The prevalence of BI
- How companies are using it
- The hurdles to implementing BI strategies
- Where BI is making the biggest impact
Download a copy of The BI Snapshot, A Pulse Survey Report from SCS and see how the BI efforts within your organization compare to your peers.
Presentations
Creating a Digital Dashboard with SQL Server 2008
Brian Larson, VP of Technology for Superior Consulting Services presented, Creating a Digital Dashboard with SQL Server 2008 at the 2009 PASS Summit, the largest SQL server event in the world. SQL Server 2008 provides the tools necessary to create and deliver polished, real-time digital dashboards —a popular way to provide key performance indicators (KPIs) to decision makers—without a large investment in additional software. Brian’s presentation explored the creation of KPIs in both a relation and an Analysis Services environment, and methods to display those KPIs graphically using Reporting Services. The presentation also covered multiple ways to deliver those digital dashboards to end users, including integration into other applications.
To access a copy of the presentation, please e-mail your request to SCS@teamscs.com. You may also download a sample of the Creating A Digital Dashboard with SSRS code.
Books
Superior Consulting Services’ VP of Technology, Brian Larson, MCSD, is an industry renowned presenter who served as a member of the SQL Server Reporting Services development team and contributed to the code base. Larson has authored several books on Microsoft SQL Server. Below we provide a synopsis of Larson’s latest books.
Visualizing Data with Microsoft Power View by Brian Larson, Mark Davis, Dan English, and Paul Purington
Explore data in insightful new methods and transform the way your enterprise uses business intelligence with help from this expert guide.
Visualizing Data with Microsoft Power View shows how to effectively analyze and communicate complex information through elegant, interactive reports. Discover how to connect to databases, create and populate tables, build multi-view reports in real-time, and publish your results for end-users. Tabular BI Semantic Model development and
administration are also covered in this comprehensive volume.
Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2012, Third Edition by Brian Larson
Equip your organization for informed, timely decision making using the expert tips and best practices in this practical guide.
Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2012, Third Edition explains how to effectively develop, customize, and distribute meaningful information to users enterprise-wide. Learn how to build data marts and create BI Semantic Models, work with the MDX and DAX languages, and share insights using Microsoft client tools. Data mining and forecasting are also covered in this comprehensive resource.
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services, Fourth Edition by Brian Larson
Create, deploy, and manage business intelligence reports using the expert tips and best practices in this hands-on resource.
Written by a member of the original Reporting Services development team, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services covers the complete process of building and distributing reports and explains how to maximize all of the powerful, integrated SSRS capabilities, including the new and enhanced features. A detailed case study and sample reports are included in this practical reference.
